Heavy equipment is typically used in various types of demolition and construction and loading; such equipment can include tractors, backhoes, excavators, loaders, and the like. Often, the heavy equipment is designed to be employed with different types of implements.
Typically, the piece of heavy equipment will include a boom extending from a portion thereof, the boom having a distal end at which end an arm is attached. The arm pivots relative to the boom and the distal end of the arm is normally designed to be secured to an implement. The implement can be any which is utilized such as a shovel, a bucket, grapples, magnets, etc. Normally, hydraulic cylinders are utilized for raising and lowering the boom and for moving the implement relative to the arm.
To most operators of such heavy equipment, it is most desirable that various implements be conveniently and reliably coupled to the arm. This then, allows a single piece of heavy equipment to be employed with any one of the implements and also allows for adjustment of the arm's length depending on the kind of implement used. Generally, the changing of an implement is a major task which is time consuming, difficult, and dangerous. The known arrangements are particularly a frustration for smaller pieces of heavy equipment which frequently have to change tasks during a single operating shift.